Chapter 4 Full Inspection

After obtaining the magic beans, the four did not rush to bury them in the soil. Instead, they conducted a comprehensive examination of the fourth floor.

Clues like the frayed rope end, only detectable upon close observation, might not be unique. They needed to investigate thoroughly. Furthermore, they wanted to know... where did the Tin Man go?

Logically, on such soft, muddy ground, the Tin Man's weight should have left traces. However, they only found some footprints near Don Quixote's corpse. A mere dozen steps away, these imprints abruptly ceased.

If the footprints had disappeared near a wall, it could be explained by the Tin Man entering the mural, but that wasn't the case... The footprints ended far from the wall, in an area right in the middle of the grassy field, as if the Tin Man had vanished into thin air while walking.

The mysteries of this script seemed endless, each more bizarre than the last. The keter-level anomaly on the first floor seemed like mere child's play... After reaching the third floor, they hadn't even fully understood the case of *The Wizard of Oz*, then Don Quixote died on the fourth floor, followed by a bear-child trading cows for beans. Even Feng Bujue found it hard to imagine what they would encounter next...

The exploration lasted ten minutes, yielding no progress and no clear indication of where to bury the magic beans. So, they randomly chose an empty patch of ground and prepared to plant the beans.

"I think I know why the floor on this level is made of soil and grass," Qiu Feng said, digging into the ground with the small folding knife Feng Bujue had given him.

"Don't dig too deep. In the story, the magic beans sprouted just by being scattered on the soil," Ji Chang reminded.

"Do you think we should plant all the beans, or just one to see what happens?" Feng Bujue held the bag of magic beans, taking one out to examine it.

"Doesn't the item description say it's a plot item?" Honghu said. "It's useless to keep them."

"Maybe it has some hidden attribute, like eating one will instantly restore you to full health," Feng Bujue joked.

"Those are Senzu beans!" Qiu Feng corrected.

"Alright," Feng Bujue said, walking over to Qiu Feng and pouring the entire bag of magic beans into the small pit the latter had dug.

Qiu Feng used his hands to push the soil, burying them shallowly, then handed the knife back to Feng Bujue, dusting off his hands. "Done."

"It shouldn't be long before something happens," Ji Chang said.

Feng Bujue, however, said, "What if I give it some water?"

"What are you holding back for..." Qiu Feng had a bad feeling again, squinting at Feng Bujue. "You can't take your pants off in this game, don't get any crazy ideas."

"I said water, not pee," Feng Bujue said.

"You're the one who mentions sh*t and piss the most out of everyone I've ever played a game with..." Honghu couldn't take it anymore. "From your previous statements, you seem to be a person of culture, but why is your wording so..."

"What's so great about refined wording? There are plenty of people in my profession who can spout literary nonsense, but their character isn't necessarily better than those who swear. As the saying goes... Emperors of the Tang and Song dynasties slightly pale in comparison, but to see the true degenerate, look at today." While speaking, Feng Bujue had already walked towards a wall. Reaching the wall, he squatted down and used his silver magic shoes to scoop some clear water from the stream in the mural.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Qiu Feng understood Feng Bujue's intention when he saw him returning with the water.

Two "shoes" of water were poured down, and the water quickly seeped into the soil. The small mound of dirt immediately stirred slightly.

The reactions of the four were quick. Knowing that something was about to happen, without needing a reminder from their companions, they all retreated a certain distance.

A few seconds later, boom.

A beanstalk as thick as a giant tower burst out of the ground, shooting straight up like a long dragon. The sharp bud at the top of the beanstalk was like a drill, and the stalks behind it were knotted and intertwined, twisted into a braid.

The players originally thought that the beanstalk would crash through the ceiling of the fourth floor, but they didn't expect it to directly pierce into the "sky" painted on the ceiling.

A full five minutes later, the beanstalk stopped growing and became fixed in place.

The four looked up, unable to see the top of the beanstalk or anything above the "clouds."

"Well... we probably can't pass through this backdrop, right..." Ji Chang said.

"Not necessarily." Honghu adjusted his glasses, looking up. "We only tried the four walls, but we haven't tried the ceiling yet..."

"Assuming we can climb the beanstalk into that 'sky', looking at this height... I'm afraid we won't reach the end even after climbing a kilometer or two," Qiu Feng said.

Feng Bujue said with a sigh, "Ah... I remember climbing up such a high place back then, and snatching the Super Holy Water from a hermit at the top of the tower..."

"Isn't that Korin Tower!" Qiu Feng shouted.

"But... it's fine for Ji Chang to carry the hat, but how will Qiu Feng climb with a broom?" Honghu said.

"How about holding it in your mouth?" Feng Bujue suggested.

"You do it!" Qiu Feng unceremoniously handed the broom to Feng Bujue.

"Alright." Feng Bujue surprisingly agreed and handed the shoes he was wearing to Qiu Feng. "You hold these for me."

Qiu Feng was completely stunned. He woodenly took the shoes, stuffed them into his pocket (Qiu Feng's pockets were larger than Feng Bujue's long suit), and then... he looked at Feng Bujue with shock as he bit the broom horizontally and calmly walked towards the beanstalk.

"I remember when I was practicing the Three-Sword Style, I spent the whole day holding a hilt even thicker than this in my mouth..." Feng Bujue said, his words slurred through the broom, drool dripping down.

"I'll bet you fifty cents, this guy has mental problems..." Qiu Feng said, squinting at Feng Bujue's back.

Ji Chang and Honghu beside him replied together, "What's the point of betting on something so obvious..."

…………

The physical abilities of these four in the game had far surpassed ordinary people, so climbing the beanstalk was still easy. Before long, they had successfully entered the "sky" painted on the ceiling. Of course, from their perspective, the surrounding world was still 3D.

From this moment on, it was hard to say which "floor" they were on. By visual estimation, another ten minutes of climbing would take the four of them beyond the height of any building.

Climbing like this... about twenty minutes later, they saw a golden cloud. The cloud was clearly solid, and it was right next to the beanstalk. A giant leaf on the stalk extended towards the cloud, drooping over the edge of the cloud.

Seeing such an obvious path, the four of them immediately perked up, accelerated their climb, and two minutes later, they jumped onto the cloud.

Standing on the golden cloud layer, their vision was suddenly clear. This place was like a continent on the clouds, everything shrouded in a golden brilliance.

Just over a hundred meters away, there stood a castle with the style of Disney fairytales. Looking as far as the eye could see, they could vaguely see that the highest spire of the castle even had a long ladder attached to it, leading all the way up to another cloud above.

"From that ladder, we should be able to get to the fifth floor," Feng Bujue said.

"You still have the concept of floors?" Qiu Feng said.

"Instead of floors, I'm more concerned about... where did the Tin Man go? Will we meet him on the upper floors?" Honghu pondered.

"I think it's better to focus on the situation in front of us," Ji Chang said. "If we're still in the story of *Jack and the Beanstalk*, is there a giant living in the castle ahead?"

"Here, your broom, catch." Feng Bujue ignored the others' thoughts and handed the broom to Qiu Feng.

"You hold it, I'll just keep the shoes." Qiu Feng didn't want to take the drool-covered broom.

"Re—al—ly?" Feng Bujue asked, dragging out his words.

"Definitely." Qiu Feng replied.

"Good!" Feng Bujue readily agreed again, then placed the broom horizontally behind his neck, spread his arms out to the sides, resting his wrists on both ends of the broom, and swayed towards the castle, humming, "Suffering sea~ evokes love and hate~ In this world~ it's hard to escape fate~"

"Heh... haha..." Honghu couldn't help but laugh. "He really is... able to have fun no matter the situation."

"You have to admire him for that," Ji Chang agreed.

The three followed Jue-ge towards the castle, and after a few minutes, they arrived at the gate.

"It's very clear when you get here," Feng Bujue said. "At least from the size of this gate, the castle is not inhabited by giants." He was right. The height and width of the door were large, but it was clearly designed for humans of normal size.

"So, do we knock or..." Ji Chang didn't finish speaking before Feng Bujue retreated ten meters away.

"I support you spiritually!" He shouted from the back, as if it were natural.

"Then I'll knock this time," Ji Chang said. He hadn't been in the vanguard yet. According to the rotation, it was his turn.

Bang, bang, bang—

Ji Chang grabbed the ring on the door and knocked three times. After about twenty seconds, there was no movement inside. So he smashed it three more times.

A minute later, still no response.

They split up, trying to peer inside through the windows, but the windows of the castle were high and made of colored glass, so under the golden light, they couldn't see anything inside at all.

"There's no way... let's force our way in," Qiu Feng suggested.

Honghu nodded, humming in agreement.

Ji Chang rushed ahead. "Leave it to me. I can open a door of this level." He faced the gate, got into position, activated his Skill: Heart's Desire, and pushed his palm out.

As a result... nothing happened.

"Haha... sorry, my Fighting specialization is only E-level, the skill failed." Ji Chang said with an embarrassed smile.

Honghu and Qiu Feng both smiled. "It's okay, it's normal."

Ji Chang said, "I'll try again." With that, he tried again.

This time, it seemed to have succeeded. A palm wind whistled forward, striking the area of the lock. A hole the size of a washbasin was blasted out of the middle of the thick door, and the two door panels loosened and slowly moved apart.

Among non-combat players, almost everyone had a practical E-level active Fighting skill like this. Even if they couldn't get it in the script, players would buy one at the auction house. Anyway, this kind of skill wasn't expensive, and the cost performance was good.

Only a guy like Feng Bujue, who took the puzzle-solving route and didn't specifically buy skills, managed to mix his Fighting specialization up to C-level...

"Mad Brother, there's no danger, you can come over now, right?" Honghu shouted back. "It'll be troublesome if the gate suddenly closes automatically."

Without needing him to remind him, Feng Bujue had already been squinting and observing from a distance for a long time. When Honghu spoke, he was already walking forward.

The four walked into the castle together. After opening the door, there was a sloping, arc-shaped staircase directly ahead, hugging the walls and spiraling upwards. A giant chandelier was suspended from a very long chain, hanging down from the top. The dome was very high, but the chandelier was very close to the ground, only a little over two meters high, within easy reach.

Bypassing the staircase led to the two sides and the back of the first floor of the castle. The four naturally didn't go upstairs immediately, but prepared to explore the first floor of the castle for equipment or clues.

In the story of *Jack and the Beanstalk*, the giant's castle had things like "the hen that lays golden eggs." Even if there were no golden eggs in this castle, a few hints would be good.

But they shouldn't have explored. The exploration dropped their sanity...

This castle was less magnificent and more bizarre. In the golden, dreamlike light, the castle didn't bring a fairytale feeling at all, but rather an unspeakable eerie atmosphere.

The design of the staircase and chandelier at the main entrance was already a bit inexplicable, but this was just the beginning. Similar designs were everywhere...

For example, the dining hall on the first floor had a long table in the center, over ten meters long, covered with a zebra-striped tablecloth. On both sides, there were dozens of giant high-legged chairs... like those for tennis match referees.

Then there was the kitchen's sink and counter. The former was as big as a bathtub, and the latter was as small as a mobile phone screen. The stove was as low as a squatting toilet, and firewood was added from a sloping ramp.

As for the dance hall, the dance floor in the center was neither round nor square, but lightning-shaped, the kind where the Rapid Cobra could use its Electro-Optical Run technique. And the stage for the band to stand on was like a skateboarding ramp. The U-shaped ground made it impossible to place large instruments flat.

"Well... this castle is like a twenty-nine-year-old woman." After the four finished touring, Feng Bujue leisurely commented when they returned to the main entrance on the first floor.

"Hormonal imbalance?" Qiu Feng replied.

Feng Bujue said, "I was going to say hysterical and unreasonable, but I didn't expect you to say something with a personal attack."

"Who's the one making a personal attack! You pointed out the age, gender, and personality, and I just mentioned a physiological phenomenon. And that becomes a personal attack!" Qiu Feng shouted.

"Alright... the interior design here has nothing to do with us." Honghu said, "Since there's nothing to gain on the first floor, let's go up and take a look."

The group then followed the stairs at the main entrance, ascending step by step. The staircase led them all the way to the top floor, without a single door or entrance in between.

"It seems we need to go the long way around from the top to enter the middle floors of this castle," Ji Chang said. "Or... there are hidden passages on the first floor that we didn't find?"

"No, no, no... castles are usually like this." Feng Bujue denied. "If you had a cross-sectional view of the castle, you'd understand that the central area is often the last to be reached. You have to go through the vestibule, chapel, back corridor, dance hall, underground waterway, clock tower, and various other places in a certain order before you can finally reach the center."

"The central area is called 'Highest Reaches of Castlevania', right? Before, you had to defile a boss at every place you arrived and get a new skill, right?" Honghu couldn't help but retort.

"Yeah." Feng Bujue nodded and said to Ji Chang, "See, this is someone who knows his stuff."

"What knows his stuff? It's not like no one's ever played *Castlevania* before..."

While chatting, the group quickly reached the end of the stairs. There, there was a wooden door in the shape of an arch.

Qiu Feng, who was at the front, was the first to see the words written on the door.

It was a line of golden engraved words, in English, with a rather fancy font. The content was: [Unreasonable things are not always obvious.]

"Here we go again?" Qiu Feng said. "Then no need to say it... there's a corpse waiting for us inside the door." Saying this, he simply pushed the door open.

The four players filed in, and what appeared before their eyes was a bedroom.

This was probably the most normal room they had seen since entering the castle. Pink walls and ceiling, a wooden floor, a large bed in the middle of the room, and a dressing table and wardrobe by the wall. This was clearly a woman's room, or rather... a princess's boudoir.

"Hey... there's someone in bed." Qiu Feng immediately noticed that the blanket on the bed was slightly raised, and the body sleeping inside was still rising and falling slightly.

"Let me do it!" Feng Bujue reacted quickly, shouting and throwing the broom to the ground as he rushed forward.

The other three immediately stopped him. Ji Chang was the first to ask, "What do you want to do?"

Before Feng Bujue could answer, Qiu Feng spoke first, "Isn't this as obvious as a louse on a bald head..." He snorted, "Looking at the situation, the story of *Sleeping Beauty* is definitely here."

"Well... according to the order of rotating the vanguard, it should be my turn..." Honghu's glasses gleamed white. As he spoke, he stepped forward.

"Trident Tackle!" Feng Bujue made a forceful lunge, tackling Honghu from behind, "Hmph... Kogure, did you think you could get away with pretending to be calm!"

"Even if you temporarily forgot that my ID is Honghu... the name Kogure is too..."

Before Honghu could finish, Qiu Feng spoke, "What's the matter with you guys, so ungentlemanly. How disappointed will the princess be when she wakes up." Saying this, he straightened his collar, "In this situation, it should be me..."

"Invincible Firewheel!" Feng Bujue pounced on Qiu Feng again. "Lei Qiu, I advise you not to act rashly... there's a long line of stairs outside the door. With my Invincible Firewheel, I'll kill even a god!"

Although the three were fighting happily, it was just a joke. Teammates couldn't inflict real damage on each other.

However, watching the behavior of this group, Ji Chang, who was more stable in personality, stood aside, shaking his head while holding his forehead.

"Ah..." Suddenly, a man's deep voice came from the blanket.

This shout instantly froze all four players.

"So much chatter... noisy!" The voice shouted domineeringly.

The next second...

A tall werewolf covered in gray fur, wearing a pink bathrobe and a plastic shower cap, opened the blanket and sat up.